March 24, 2025 • 24 mins
In season 1 of 'The Valley,' Michelle was supposed to live out her 'happily ever after,' instead, she found herself in a broken marriage
and destined for divorce. Little did she know, love was waiting just around the corner when she met her new man Aaron in a coffee shop.
Find out why her 'emotional baggage' didn't stop him from pursuing the single mom, how she realized he was Mister Right,
and where they stand on having kids of their own.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome back everyone. I have my very first guests, and
I wanted to have this special person on because he's
been through a lot with me and I am in
love with him. And I have my boyfriend here, Hi Erin.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
So good to be here. Really excited for you.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Thank you. I get asked all the time how we met,
So I feel like that is where we should start,
because we have kind of a unique story, especially nowadays,
I feel like most people meet on apps, and we
certainly did not.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yeah, because every time somebody asks us, how did you meet,
and we always have to say, oh, we met at
a coffee shop, and they're like, oh, that's so cute.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
It is cute. I love that. Apparently you saw me
first before I realized what was going on in my surroundings.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah. So there's a coffee shop that's right in between
where you used to live and where I live. And
I'm sitting there. I think you had Isabella in the stroller,
and I'm waving to Isabella from across the room and
she's waving.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
To me, and I have my headphones on. I'm listening
to music, so I'm in the zone.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
And yeah, I noticed Michelle, but I didn't say hi
to you at that time, and I think a few
days later you came back to the cafe. That's when
we were standing in line together. We ordered our drinks.
We started chatting, and yeah, I realized you were in
real estate. I said, hey, I'm in wealth management financial planning.
And we both had good energy together and we said, hey,
(01:42):
let's go out to lunch and talk about potential clients
and things like that. Yeah, so then fast forward, it
kind of turned into you know, just meeting out and
about while you were walking and while I was walking
my dog.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Yeah, it was very random and like here and there,
I am a walker and I say this a lot,
but it's very important to me. I, especially back then,
try to walk, you know, at least ten thousand steps
in the neighborhood or go on a hike. And that
was really my way of having alone time and having
my exercise and just like good for my mental health.
(02:19):
Like that walk was everything for me.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yeah, I used to do runying or I'm sure you
still do running all the time. I do running all
the time.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Runyon is a hiking trail in Hollywood Hills. So it's
it's pretty cool because it's like literally your backyard.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Yeah, it's like four blocks from my house, so my playground,
and it's also a great place where a lot of
fitness people go. And So I have a honey company.
And I started this honey company as a passion project.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
I remember I was so intrigued because it's like, who
doesn't love honey? It's so perfect, especially every night before
I go to sleep, I used to have honey. So
when you're like, oh, I have this unique white honey,
I'm like, what you mean white honey? What is that?
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah? Most people say I've never tried white honey. And
it started my friend brought me some honey from Slovakia
and it was white honey. And we're in the office
full suits, eating this honey out of a jar with
a spoon, and we're both so into it and we're like,
oh my god, this is best honey I ever had.
(03:21):
So I made it a mission to create my own
honey company and sell this honey so that everybody could
enjoy it. So I'm at Runyon Canyon and I set
up like a table and I'm selling honey there and
you happen to be there on a hike and you.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Oh, yeah. So I run into you at Runnia, at
this hiking trail, and I see the honey, so I
buy it and I bring it home obviously, and Isabella
is addicted to this honey literally every single day for
about a year or a year and a half. She would
have to have this honey with her strawberries or any food.
So we develop a little friendship because we live in
(04:03):
the neighborhood, and you know, we were walkers and hikers,
and he was a good person to know because he's
a financial advisor, which is good for me. He could
refer me business, and you know, throughout the years, I
would just see him and chat with him whenever I
did see him. So why don't you tell us a
(04:32):
little bit about where you come from and tell us
about your parents, because I really love that dynamic of you,
just like that whole story.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
You know, it's interesting that my story is is it's
funny that we're complimentary, but we're also there's some lead opposites.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
There's so many similarities there are, and then there are
like drastic changes, just drastic opposites. Yeah, there is a
combination of both.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Almost like compliment tree opposite. So there was a time
that you and your mom like were side by side,
and you were raised by your mom and my dad. Actually,
so I'm the youngest of three boys, and my mom
and dad got divorced when I was young, when I
was like five years old. My mom, I was also
(05:19):
in real estate, and.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
She she loves that about me, mm hmm.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
And she's always commenting on the houses that you're showing
and she loves to be back in it.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
She's like, I did that back in the two thousands,
nineteen nineties.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Yeah, my mom was was great in sales, and she
was she was a big motivation for me, just like
I really looked up to her as a businesswoman, as
somebody in sales, successful independent woman.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
And so your parents got divorced when you were really young, yes,
and how old were you?
Speaker 2 (05:56):
I was five. My mom ended up not wanting to
stay in Sacramento, where I'm from. But my mom was
born raised in Sacramento. My dad was born and raised
in Sacramento.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
She wanted a change.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Yeah, she was really craving a change and anyhow, so
she moved to.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
La And so you were raised by your dad.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
My dad got full custody, and you.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Have two older brothers, So it's the three of you
plus your dad in one house.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yes, yeah, a lot of past Australia.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
I cannot imagine, have you.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
There was a lot of things that took me some
time to learn about, like women or whatnot like that
I just didn't experience growing up. But I would come
down to la and I would spend the summers with
my mom. But being raised by my dad. He was
a holistic health and wellness radio talk show host and
(06:50):
he spent his whole career just like educating people on health.
Imagine like Joe Rogan and jf RFK combined like with
a little bit of Jacquela Lane or whatnot. Like that
was my dad. He was this sort of pioneer of
the holistic health and wellness movement. I didn't get the
brand name foods. I didn't get soda. I didn't get
(07:13):
you know, the sandwiches and the fast food and the
things that all my other friends were getting.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
And this is how there's a lot of similarities there
because growing up to a mom that cooked me homemade
food every single day, Like I didn't have any type
of fast food growing up to this day, A lot
of a lot of my friends make fun of me, like, oh,
you've never had McDonald's, Like, no, I tried it once,
(07:38):
but I've just that's not part of my diet.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
And it's I don't want to say it was a
non negotiable for me, but it's something that I fell
in love with. Also, is that we have similar taste buds.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Yeah, I don't think I could. Like I can't imagine
being with somebody like you're a healthy person individual trying
to cook healthy homemade and then you're somebody that like
only goes out to restaurants or only eats fast foods.
That's just so opposite. I've never yeah, wanted that.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
And it's not like I'm like a diet dietary maniac,
Like I don't like meal prep or make sure that
I have you skinless to dress with.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
People ask me that all the time, like how many
calories do you eat in a day and what you
like what do you eat? And it's not about like
I don't track my food. It's just like I just
eat healthy in general, and that's just my philosophy. It's
like I don't need to I don't need to do
anything specific as long as you're healthy, like you're gonna
look good.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Yeah, I call myself a qualitarian, and so it's not
a diet. It's like the quality of the food matters.
And I have staples like I drink raw milk and
you know, sprouted grain bread and pastured eggs. The funny
thing is I've been doing this for over twenty years.
But so yeah, a lot of influence by my dad.
(09:01):
He was mister mom. He cooked dinner almost every single night,
and he was an amazing father. Before I moved to LA,
my mom remarried. This gets fun, So she remarried the
complete opposite person of my dad. My stepdad, tool and
die maker, machinist from Ohio, Harley gun hunter, businessman, right,
(09:30):
very very different from my dad. And so yeah, when
I would go down to LA during the summers, I
got a really good sort of you know, mentorship from
just a completely different side of the brain, if you may. Like.
He ran pawn shops in LA and so I would
(09:50):
work at the pawn shops during the summer when I
would come down. Fast forward, I graduate high school, the
plan was I moved to LA, I work at the
pawnshops full time, pay my own way through school. It's
another similarity that we have, Like as soon as I
started going to city college, I paid my own way
and I worked. I worked at the pawn shop, and
(10:12):
I was learning about people. I was learning about things.
I was learning street smarts. I was learning how to
praise things and understand the authenticity and the quality and
the resellability. And then you get to yeah, you get
to know a lot about people. And so, yeah, my
stepdad was the kind of guy that like, hey, let
me buy your rifle, take your hunting, and turn you
(10:35):
into a man kind of thing. And so for me,
like being raised by my dad the sort of healthy
hippie philosopher to my stepdad being this very street smart,
business savvy sort of hunter mentality. It was a good combination.
M h.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
And what I liked is that you told me growing up,
you were really close to your dad and your stepdad.
So it's like holidays, you guys would all get together,
which was a very different dynamic. Like I was not
raised like that, didn't I wasn't in a situation like that.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Yeah, my stepdad had an ex it's actually how he
got into the pawn shop business. But he divorced and
he stayed partners at the pawn shop, but they also
he stayed friends with his ex wife and she remarried,
And I mean, I'm what thirteen, twelve, thirteen, fourteen years old,
(11:30):
and they're coming over, like my stepdad's ex wife and
her husband. They're coming over to the house just casually
all the time. So it's just like community of ex
partners and current partners. And it was just seemed like
a normal thing back then. And so obviously, you know,
(11:54):
people change and that dynamic didn't stay forever.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
So fast forward, I had separated an asked for a divorce,
and I had seen Aaron and I wanted to give
him an update.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
It had been a while since the last time we
saw each other, so there was a lot to catch
up on.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
And then he starts telling me about a trip that
he had recently had. He has a brother that lives
in Thailand, and he brought he took his dad to Thailand.
So he was just telling me what he's been up
to the last couple of months. And he told me
a funny story about he was in a relationship with
this Russian girl and why she broke up with him
(12:44):
while he was traveling. Do you want to kind of
say that story because it's kind of funny.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Oh yeah, this was I would say we were dating
and I went to Thailand. I had originally planned for
somebody to watch my dog and it ended up last
(13:09):
minute not working out, and so I just I think
she volunteered to say, hey, if you need help, like
I can walk your dog. But then I was getting
updates and things, and she she was sort of hinting
that she doesn't, you know, she hates doing this. She
doesn't like picking up the poop, like, and I mean.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
You really have to love a guy to pick up
his dog's poop.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Yeah, so that means we were not that we weren't in.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Love, she text you.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Yeah. So then one day she texts me and basically said,
f this, I'm over it. I'm tired of walking your dog,
like we're done. And I was like, are you being serious?
She said yes. I knew that what she said she
meant it, and I knew we were done even from
(14:05):
just how drastic that was and just out of the blue,
I felt like it was. I knew that this is done.
And so I went on to Japan and I was
there for ten days in Tokyo, and but I had
gotten back and so yeah, when we met up that day.
I was I was telling you about all all, and I.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Was like, I half agree with her, because I really
have to love, Like I would really have to love
you to agree to do all that work. But some
people are just like natural animal lovers. And I have
a dog, Malibu, which I love, but like, actually, my
mom was very scared of animals, so I am kind
of afraid of birds, and like, I didn't grow up
(14:47):
in that environment, so I'm like deathly afraid of birds.
Just FYI, that's it's the scariest thing. And I can
ever imagine just like having a pigeon near me, I
would scream.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
The feathers. Yeah, you tried to kill me the other
night because I put a feather on you.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
So then I say, well, interesting, not so interesting story.
But I'm actually getting divorced and moving on with my life.
And it was a very weird and interesting time for
me because it's like I did it and there was
just so many unknowns about my future and I was
(15:26):
scared and and I think that was the moment that
we were like, well, if you ever want to go
on a date, I think we should. We like, why
don't we try going out on your date?
Speaker 2 (15:38):
The moment was an expression and it was really interesting.
I've never told you this, but like, as you were
mentioning that to me, I'm like looking at you by normal,
but I'm looking in your eyes and then all of
a sudden, I just like see a different potential for us.
I honestly still remember looking at your face as you're
(16:01):
telling me that you're separated and that you divorce, and
so I'm kind of seeing you in like a different light.
And I was like, Oh, do you ever want to
go in a date?
Speaker 1 (16:15):
And when you asked that, I was like, okay, Like
why not, let's do it like I had. I had
gone on in a couple of dates and they were awful,
like terrible and wanted to get out of there as
soon as possible. And I was just like, I think
that's honestly they say that and it's like very cheesy
in movies, but it's like knowing somebody who's your friend
(16:39):
first makes such a difference because it's just way more
comfortable and easy.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
I was really excited, like really excited.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
It was an interesting time for me because I was
still living in the house, in the Marmont House. Yeah,
there was just so many unknowns. I had asked Jessie
to leave, and he was just like, I'm not leaving
this house, but you can sleep downstairs. And so there
(17:09):
was a whole separate downstairs area bathroom, and so I
started sleeping downstairs while Jesse was in our primary bedroom
we have to now call it that in real estate,
but the master bedroom. He stayed there and I stayed downstairs,
and you know, I was very firm. It was just like,
I want to ask for a divorce. We're not together,
(17:31):
let's split at financials. We weren't speaking at the time,
and it was very uncomfortable, like imagine having to share
the living room space or kitchen or just like run
into each other. And so I was just like I
kept asking him to please leave, please leave. You know,
most men leave in this situation, and he was just
(17:51):
very adamant, like I'm comfortable. This is my house. He
is very entitled, and he was like, I'm not leaving
this house. So if you want to go, you go,
but you still have to pay me half the rent.
And so I didn't know what to do because I'm like, okay,
he's making me liable to pay half the rent and
(18:11):
then I have to find a place and what's going
to happen with the furniture. So I was just kind
of like dealing with it a day at a time.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Mind you at face Like I'm taking this at face
value too, So I mean, for me, it took an
incredible amount of love and trust that that you are
living in in this first time.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Right, Yeah, I'm a great question what is that like
for you as a man. So it's like, I'm newly
getting separated, I have a daughter. How do you feel
about going on a date with somebody who has what
you want to call it, a lot of baggage?
Speaker 2 (18:58):
And you know, first off, I knew you are an
incredible mother, and like there was there has been times
where I think about that and it gets me emotional,
like I have fallen in love with somebody who's an
amazing mother and I want to have kids in the future,
and it just makes me just, yeah, love you that
(19:25):
much more. And I see how good you are with
Isabella and how much attention you give her, and you
have this like philosophy like I don't want her to
be on the iPhone. I don't want her to be
on an iPad, Like you spend really really good quality
time with her. You also don't give her sweets like
you give her eats, real good, high quality food, and
(19:47):
like all these things, like even though that was not
part of what I thought was my story too, you know,
to get into a relationship with somebody who's already has
a kid and and who is splitting and in the
middle of kind of a nasty di worse, that was
(20:10):
not what I thought I was was my destiny. Like
the more I, uh, the more I fell in love
with you, it it just it wasn't And seeing you
know that my stepdad he was you know, my stepdad
wanted kids, and my mom she was she tied her
(20:32):
tubes that after me and she didn't have any more kids.
So I had heard my stepdad talk about how he
had fallen in love in love with my mom and
that he had to accept that he wasn't going to
have kids of his own. But you know, my mom
was worth it, and so I saw you as as
worth it, and so.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
I could cry right now. I was like, oh, that's
so sweet.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Yeah, that was that was a big deal.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
Because I was very nervous about that. I was like,
oh my god, Like I wasn't worried about my age.
I was just worried, like what does that mean in
the dating world, Like I now have a child. Like
when I was in my twenties, I remember thinking, like,
I'm not going to date a guy who had been
married or have kids, Like that was just my mindset
(21:23):
back then. And so now I'm like, Okay, now I'm
in my mid thirties and I'm getting a divorce and
I have a daughter, Like is it going to be
that much harder, especially in LA when it's already hard
to date in general? Like am I going to find
love again? Because I didn't want to, Like I didn't
want to be single. I didn't want to date a
bunch of guys, Like that's not who I am, Like
(21:45):
I want to be with one person, and I do.
But I still believe in marriage, even after everything that's
happened to me, Like I believe that there is such
thing as being in love and being married till you die.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
And I wanted you and I fell in love with you.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
So I feel like we dived a little bit into
the beginning of our relationship. But there's so much because
it was so unique. I mean, I had filmed a show,
but the show hadn't come out yet, and then we
started dating, and I'm like, quietly, you know, I had
asked for a divorce, but we didn't. You know, when
you're getting divorced, it's very tricky, and it's like we
(22:27):
don't know is there when is the time to tell
your friends? And so like there was a very period.
There was a period of time where it was like
we were Jesse was seeing somebody else or seeing other people,
and I was dating. We both agreed it was just
like we were done, but we hadn't told our friends
and people from the valley didn't know. But we continued
(22:49):
living our life and so having to be in that
weird what do you call it? Yeah, so it's a
weird period of time where it's like we're not together,
but nobody quite knows. And then we're living our lives.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
I'm dating a girl that lives with their ex husband.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Totally normal, technically still living with my ex.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Like I wasn't wrestling with that at all.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
I mean, yeah, trust me, I was trying to move out,
but he didn't make anything easy whatsoever. And I was
just like, okay, so I'm going to have to pay
half of this place and half of the place where
I move in a deposit and he wasn't going to
take let me take any furniture. So just like that
that dynamic.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Surprisingly, like we got through that without arguing, Like we
didn't argue, and we were so good together, and like
we got through that whole situation, got you into a
new apartment that was.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
So wild, and then I want to continue on because
we can really like there's so much to say, but
it's like we watched season one together the very first
time I had ever seen any of the episodes. You
and I were holding hands and we would.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Watch it and I loved it. Watch watching my girlfriend's
ex marriage untangled was a great new experience for me.
So let's let's dive in more next time.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Yeah, let's do it next week
Welcome back everyone. I have my very first guests, and
I wanted to have this special person on because he's
been through a lot with me and I am in
love with him. And I have my boyfriend here, Hi Erin.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
So good to be here. Really excited for you.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Thank you. I get asked all the time how we met,
So I feel like that is where we should start,
because we have kind of a unique story, especially nowadays,
I feel like most people meet on apps, and we
certainly did not.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yeah, because every time somebody asks us, how did you meet,
and we always have to say, oh, we met at
a coffee shop, and they're like, oh, that's so cute.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
It is cute. I love that. Apparently you saw me
first before I realized what was going on in my surroundings.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah. So there's a coffee shop that's right in between
where you used to live and where I live. And
I'm sitting there. I think you had Isabella in the stroller,
and I'm waving to Isabella from across the room and
she's waving.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
To me, and I have my headphones on. I'm listening
to music, so I'm in the zone.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
And yeah, I noticed Michelle, but I didn't say hi
to you at that time, and I think a few
days later you came back to the cafe. That's when
we were standing in line together. We ordered our drinks.
We started chatting, and yeah, I realized you were in
real estate. I said, hey, I'm in wealth management financial planning.
And we both had good energy together and we said, hey,
(01:42):
let's go out to lunch and talk about potential clients
and things like that. Yeah, so then fast forward, it
kind of turned into you know, just meeting out and
about while you were walking and while I was walking
my dog.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Yeah, it was very random and like here and there,
I am a walker and I say this a lot,
but it's very important to me. I, especially back then,
try to walk, you know, at least ten thousand steps
in the neighborhood or go on a hike. And that
was really my way of having alone time and having
my exercise and just like good for my mental health.
(02:19):
Like that walk was everything for me.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yeah, I used to do runying or I'm sure you
still do running all the time. I do running all
the time.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Runyon is a hiking trail in Hollywood Hills. So it's
it's pretty cool because it's like literally your backyard.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Yeah, it's like four blocks from my house, so my playground,
and it's also a great place where a lot of
fitness people go. And So I have a honey company.
And I started this honey company as a passion project.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
I remember I was so intrigued because it's like, who
doesn't love honey? It's so perfect, especially every night before
I go to sleep, I used to have honey. So
when you're like, oh, I have this unique white honey,
I'm like, what you mean white honey? What is that?
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah? Most people say I've never tried white honey. And
it started my friend brought me some honey from Slovakia
and it was white honey. And we're in the office
full suits, eating this honey out of a jar with
a spoon, and we're both so into it and we're like,
oh my god, this is best honey I ever had.
(03:21):
So I made it a mission to create my own
honey company and sell this honey so that everybody could
enjoy it. So I'm at Runyon Canyon and I set
up like a table and I'm selling honey there and
you happen to be there on a hike and you.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Oh, yeah. So I run into you at Runnia, at
this hiking trail, and I see the honey, so I
buy it and I bring it home obviously, and Isabella
is addicted to this honey literally every single day for
about a year or a year and a half. She would
have to have this honey with her strawberries or any food.
So we develop a little friendship because we live in
(04:03):
the neighborhood, and you know, we were walkers and hikers,
and he was a good person to know because he's
a financial advisor, which is good for me. He could
refer me business, and you know, throughout the years, I
would just see him and chat with him whenever I
did see him. So why don't you tell us a
(04:32):
little bit about where you come from and tell us
about your parents, because I really love that dynamic of you,
just like that whole story.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
You know, it's interesting that my story is is it's
funny that we're complimentary, but we're also there's some lead opposites.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
There's so many similarities there are, and then there are
like drastic changes, just drastic opposites. Yeah, there is a
combination of both.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Almost like compliment tree opposite. So there was a time
that you and your mom like were side by side,
and you were raised by your mom and my dad. Actually,
so I'm the youngest of three boys, and my mom
and dad got divorced when I was young, when I
was like five years old. My mom, I was also
(05:19):
in real estate, and.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
She she loves that about me, mm hmm.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
And she's always commenting on the houses that you're showing
and she loves to be back in it.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
She's like, I did that back in the two thousands,
nineteen nineties.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Yeah, my mom was was great in sales, and she
was she was a big motivation for me, just like
I really looked up to her as a businesswoman, as
somebody in sales, successful independent woman.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
And so your parents got divorced when you were really young, yes,
and how old were you?
Speaker 2 (05:56):
I was five. My mom ended up not wanting to
stay in Sacramento, where I'm from. But my mom was
born raised in Sacramento. My dad was born and raised
in Sacramento.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
She wanted a change.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Yeah, she was really craving a change and anyhow, so
she moved to.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
La And so you were raised by your dad.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
My dad got full custody, and you.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Have two older brothers, So it's the three of you
plus your dad in one house.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yes, yeah, a lot of past Australia.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
I cannot imagine, have you.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
There was a lot of things that took me some
time to learn about, like women or whatnot like that
I just didn't experience growing up. But I would come
down to la and I would spend the summers with
my mom. But being raised by my dad. He was
a holistic health and wellness radio talk show host and
(06:50):
he spent his whole career just like educating people on health.
Imagine like Joe Rogan and jf RFK combined like with
a little bit of Jacquela Lane or whatnot. Like that
was my dad. He was this sort of pioneer of
the holistic health and wellness movement. I didn't get the
brand name foods. I didn't get soda. I didn't get
(07:13):
you know, the sandwiches and the fast food and the
things that all my other friends were getting.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
And this is how there's a lot of similarities there
because growing up to a mom that cooked me homemade
food every single day, Like I didn't have any type
of fast food growing up to this day, A lot
of a lot of my friends make fun of me, like, oh,
you've never had McDonald's, Like, no, I tried it once,
(07:38):
but I've just that's not part of my diet.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
And it's I don't want to say it was a
non negotiable for me, but it's something that I fell
in love with. Also, is that we have similar taste buds.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Yeah, I don't think I could. Like I can't imagine
being with somebody like you're a healthy person individual trying
to cook healthy homemade and then you're somebody that like
only goes out to restaurants or only eats fast foods.
That's just so opposite. I've never yeah, wanted that.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
And it's not like I'm like a diet dietary maniac,
Like I don't like meal prep or make sure that
I have you skinless to dress with.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
People ask me that all the time, like how many
calories do you eat in a day and what you
like what do you eat? And it's not about like
I don't track my food. It's just like I just
eat healthy in general, and that's just my philosophy. It's
like I don't need to I don't need to do
anything specific as long as you're healthy, like you're gonna
look good.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Yeah, I call myself a qualitarian, and so it's not
a diet. It's like the quality of the food matters.
And I have staples like I drink raw milk and
you know, sprouted grain bread and pastured eggs. The funny
thing is I've been doing this for over twenty years.
But so yeah, a lot of influence by my dad.
(09:01):
He was mister mom. He cooked dinner almost every single night,
and he was an amazing father. Before I moved to LA,
my mom remarried. This gets fun, So she remarried the
complete opposite person of my dad. My stepdad, tool and
die maker, machinist from Ohio, Harley gun hunter, businessman, right,
(09:30):
very very different from my dad. And so yeah, when
I would go down to LA during the summers, I
got a really good sort of you know, mentorship from
just a completely different side of the brain, if you may. Like.
He ran pawn shops in LA and so I would
(09:50):
work at the pawn shops during the summer when I
would come down. Fast forward, I graduate high school, the
plan was I moved to LA, I work at the
pawnshops full time, pay my own way through school. It's
another similarity that we have, Like as soon as I
started going to city college, I paid my own way
and I worked. I worked at the pawn shop, and
(10:12):
I was learning about people. I was learning about things.
I was learning street smarts. I was learning how to
praise things and understand the authenticity and the quality and
the resellability. And then you get to yeah, you get
to know a lot about people. And so, yeah, my
stepdad was the kind of guy that like, hey, let
me buy your rifle, take your hunting, and turn you
(10:35):
into a man kind of thing. And so for me,
like being raised by my dad the sort of healthy
hippie philosopher to my stepdad being this very street smart,
business savvy sort of hunter mentality. It was a good combination.
M h.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
And what I liked is that you told me growing up,
you were really close to your dad and your stepdad.
So it's like holidays, you guys would all get together,
which was a very different dynamic. Like I was not
raised like that, didn't I wasn't in a situation like that.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Yeah, my stepdad had an ex it's actually how he
got into the pawn shop business. But he divorced and
he stayed partners at the pawn shop, but they also
he stayed friends with his ex wife and she remarried,
And I mean, I'm what thirteen, twelve, thirteen, fourteen years old,
(11:30):
and they're coming over, like my stepdad's ex wife and
her husband. They're coming over to the house just casually
all the time. So it's just like community of ex
partners and current partners. And it was just seemed like
a normal thing back then. And so obviously, you know,
(11:54):
people change and that dynamic didn't stay forever.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
So fast forward, I had separated an asked for a divorce,
and I had seen Aaron and I wanted to give
him an update.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
It had been a while since the last time we
saw each other, so there was a lot to catch
up on.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
And then he starts telling me about a trip that
he had recently had. He has a brother that lives
in Thailand, and he brought he took his dad to Thailand.
So he was just telling me what he's been up
to the last couple of months. And he told me
a funny story about he was in a relationship with
this Russian girl and why she broke up with him
(12:44):
while he was traveling. Do you want to kind of
say that story because it's kind of funny.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Oh yeah, this was I would say we were dating
and I went to Thailand. I had originally planned for
somebody to watch my dog and it ended up last
(13:09):
minute not working out, and so I just I think
she volunteered to say, hey, if you need help, like
I can walk your dog. But then I was getting
updates and things, and she she was sort of hinting
that she doesn't, you know, she hates doing this. She
doesn't like picking up the poop, like, and I mean.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
You really have to love a guy to pick up
his dog's poop.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Yeah, so that means we were not that we weren't in.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Love, she text you.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Yeah. So then one day she texts me and basically said,
f this, I'm over it. I'm tired of walking your dog,
like we're done. And I was like, are you being serious?
She said yes. I knew that what she said she
meant it, and I knew we were done even from
(14:05):
just how drastic that was and just out of the blue,
I felt like it was. I knew that this is done.
And so I went on to Japan and I was
there for ten days in Tokyo, and but I had
gotten back and so yeah, when we met up that day.
I was I was telling you about all all, and I.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Was like, I half agree with her, because I really
have to love, Like I would really have to love
you to agree to do all that work. But some
people are just like natural animal lovers. And I have
a dog, Malibu, which I love, but like, actually, my
mom was very scared of animals, so I am kind
of afraid of birds, and like, I didn't grow up
(14:47):
in that environment, so I'm like deathly afraid of birds.
Just FYI, that's it's the scariest thing. And I can
ever imagine just like having a pigeon near me, I
would scream.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
The feathers. Yeah, you tried to kill me the other
night because I put a feather on you.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
So then I say, well, interesting, not so interesting story.
But I'm actually getting divorced and moving on with my life.
And it was a very weird and interesting time for
me because it's like I did it and there was
just so many unknowns about my future and I was
(15:26):
scared and and I think that was the moment that
we were like, well, if you ever want to go
on a date, I think we should. We like, why
don't we try going out on your date?
Speaker 2 (15:38):
The moment was an expression and it was really interesting.
I've never told you this, but like, as you were
mentioning that to me, I'm like looking at you by normal,
but I'm looking in your eyes and then all of
a sudden, I just like see a different potential for us.
I honestly still remember looking at your face as you're
(16:01):
telling me that you're separated and that you divorce, and
so I'm kind of seeing you in like a different light.
And I was like, Oh, do you ever want to
go in a date?
Speaker 1 (16:15):
And when you asked that, I was like, okay, Like
why not, let's do it like I had. I had
gone on in a couple of dates and they were awful,
like terrible and wanted to get out of there as
soon as possible. And I was just like, I think
that's honestly they say that and it's like very cheesy
in movies, but it's like knowing somebody who's your friend
(16:39):
first makes such a difference because it's just way more
comfortable and easy.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
I was really excited, like really excited.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
It was an interesting time for me because I was
still living in the house, in the Marmont House. Yeah,
there was just so many unknowns. I had asked Jessie
to leave, and he was just like, I'm not leaving
this house, but you can sleep downstairs. And so there
(17:09):
was a whole separate downstairs area bathroom, and so I
started sleeping downstairs while Jesse was in our primary bedroom
we have to now call it that in real estate,
but the master bedroom. He stayed there and I stayed downstairs,
and you know, I was very firm. It was just like,
I want to ask for a divorce. We're not together,
(17:31):
let's split at financials. We weren't speaking at the time,
and it was very uncomfortable, like imagine having to share
the living room space or kitchen or just like run
into each other. And so I was just like I
kept asking him to please leave, please leave. You know,
most men leave in this situation, and he was just
(17:51):
very adamant, like I'm comfortable. This is my house. He
is very entitled, and he was like, I'm not leaving
this house. So if you want to go, you go,
but you still have to pay me half the rent.
And so I didn't know what to do because I'm like, okay,
he's making me liable to pay half the rent and
(18:11):
then I have to find a place and what's going
to happen with the furniture. So I was just kind
of like dealing with it a day at a time.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Mind you at face Like I'm taking this at face
value too, So I mean, for me, it took an
incredible amount of love and trust that that you are
living in in this first time.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Right, Yeah, I'm a great question what is that like
for you as a man. So it's like, I'm newly
getting separated, I have a daughter. How do you feel
about going on a date with somebody who has what
you want to call it, a lot of baggage?
Speaker 2 (18:58):
And you know, first off, I knew you are an
incredible mother, and like there was there has been times
where I think about that and it gets me emotional,
like I have fallen in love with somebody who's an
amazing mother and I want to have kids in the future,
and it just makes me just, yeah, love you that
(19:25):
much more. And I see how good you are with
Isabella and how much attention you give her, and you
have this like philosophy like I don't want her to
be on the iPhone. I don't want her to be
on an iPad, Like you spend really really good quality
time with her. You also don't give her sweets like
you give her eats, real good, high quality food, and
(19:47):
like all these things, like even though that was not
part of what I thought was my story too, you know,
to get into a relationship with somebody who's already has
a kid and and who is splitting and in the
middle of kind of a nasty di worse, that was
(20:10):
not what I thought I was was my destiny. Like
the more I, uh, the more I fell in love
with you, it it just it wasn't And seeing you
know that my stepdad he was you know, my stepdad
wanted kids, and my mom she was she tied her
(20:32):
tubes that after me and she didn't have any more kids.
So I had heard my stepdad talk about how he
had fallen in love in love with my mom and
that he had to accept that he wasn't going to
have kids of his own. But you know, my mom
was worth it, and so I saw you as as
worth it, and so.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
I could cry right now. I was like, oh, that's
so sweet.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Yeah, that was that was a big deal.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
Because I was very nervous about that. I was like,
oh my god, Like I wasn't worried about my age.
I was just worried, like what does that mean in
the dating world, Like I now have a child. Like
when I was in my twenties, I remember thinking, like,
I'm not going to date a guy who had been
married or have kids, Like that was just my mindset
(21:23):
back then. And so now I'm like, Okay, now I'm
in my mid thirties and I'm getting a divorce and
I have a daughter, Like is it going to be
that much harder, especially in LA when it's already hard
to date in general? Like am I going to find
love again? Because I didn't want to, Like I didn't
want to be single. I didn't want to date a
bunch of guys, Like that's not who I am, Like
(21:45):
I want to be with one person, and I do.
But I still believe in marriage, even after everything that's
happened to me, Like I believe that there is such
thing as being in love and being married till you die.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
And I wanted you and I fell in love with you.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
So I feel like we dived a little bit into
the beginning of our relationship. But there's so much because
it was so unique. I mean, I had filmed a show,
but the show hadn't come out yet, and then we
started dating, and I'm like, quietly, you know, I had
asked for a divorce, but we didn't. You know, when
you're getting divorced, it's very tricky, and it's like we
(22:27):
don't know is there when is the time to tell
your friends? And so like there was a very period.
There was a period of time where it was like
we were Jesse was seeing somebody else or seeing other people,
and I was dating. We both agreed it was just
like we were done, but we hadn't told our friends
and people from the valley didn't know. But we continued
(22:49):
living our life and so having to be in that
weird what do you call it? Yeah, so it's a
weird period of time where it's like we're not together,
but nobody quite knows. And then we're living our lives.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
I'm dating a girl that lives with their ex husband.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Totally normal, technically still living with my ex.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Like I wasn't wrestling with that at all.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
I mean, yeah, trust me, I was trying to move out,
but he didn't make anything easy whatsoever. And I was
just like, okay, so I'm going to have to pay
half of this place and half of the place where
I move in a deposit and he wasn't going to
take let me take any furniture. So just like that
that dynamic.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Surprisingly, like we got through that without arguing, Like we
didn't argue, and we were so good together, and like
we got through that whole situation, got you into a
new apartment that was.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
So wild, and then I want to continue on because
we can really like there's so much to say, but
it's like we watched season one together the very first
time I had ever seen any of the episodes. You
and I were holding hands and we would.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Watch it and I loved it. Watch watching my girlfriend's
ex marriage untangled was a great new experience for me.
So let's let's dive in more next time.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Yeah, let's do it next week
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